Official Luthiers Forum!

Can anyone who has seen the John Mayes dvds give me an opinion of what they thought? I'm sure they have some value, but I don't want to spend the $200 until I get some input from some of you who have seen them. I am not a beginner, I have five guitars under my belt, but I would like to get some more information from good sources. Thanks for you time.

I just bought the one on advanced voicing. Glad I did, it's great to see John's decision making process. I've read tons about voicing and nobody else has given such a direct example of "I want this to happen, so I do this". Only big complaint is that he didn't include any samples of what the resulting guitars sound like.

Well it's hard to quantify the "worth" of knowledge, but I got a lot out of them. Some things you'll take, some things you'll leave depending on your build style, but I think it's all good info and I still review it from time to time. I'll say this though...I ordered his voicing and advanced voicing videos and he sent me the whole kaboodle by mistake. When I mentioned it he said, "yeah, oops, enjoy". So I watched them, and the sent the cash difference. I now use his (borrowed) neck joint.

For a beginner, they are worth every penny. I got them early in the game and use a bunch of his methods, or slightly modified. As you have 5 done already, you may not get as much out of some of them. The advanced voicing one would be great, and if you had any particular part you are interested in. On the other hand, you may pick up several new methods across the board that will make it worth getting the entire set. But all in all, they are worth the money.

700th post

I bought John's guitar building DVD set. John is a very talented Luthier. Some of the things he shows, are in my opinion, very crude. But it works for him. I have seen this before. I am a woodworker with about thirty or more years experience. I get goose bumps when I see some of his methods, but again, it works for him. A lot of builders learned to build on their own, and the skills they use, are unique to them. But John has some solid building techniques. He know what he is doing. His guitars are selling for a lot of money, so I think that is proof enough. He produced the DVD's himself on a limited budget, and that is obvious. But he shares a lot of information on them. In my opinion, they are worth the investment. He uses a lot of jigs and fixtures that most luthiers use, and you can expand on that. But you can get all the basics from watching his DVD's. I have no regrets about investing in his DVD's. I have watched them several times. I took a week long course in building guitars, and his DVD's added to that. I know that John went through some very difficult financial times a while back, and he can probably use the money. He is also available through email, and would probably answer any questions you may have.
Hope this helps.
Mike R

Just received John's Advanced Voicing DVD. It was great. If I had the spare dough, I would invest in the set.

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Aaron Craig

Buy them! You WILL be happy. John's a great guy, humble and self-depricating, and a great luthier! That's a rare combination in my experience. The DVDs show his way of doing things and his way works...I know other luthiers have reached nuclear solutions for fashioning bridges, fingerboards, necks, etc. and their methods also work. I like John's more tactile techniques, and his DVDs give me inspiration. Buy them! You WILL be happy!

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http://www.presnallguitars.com

Buy them, you won't regret it.

Chuck

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"To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong"
- Joseph Chilton Pearce

Thanks for the input folks. Sounds like a worthwhile investment.

They are worth every penny.

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John Lewis
Wannabe builder owned by 2 crazy dachshunds

I have the set and although I found them very useful and don't regret buying them they are very specific to John's machinery and tooling which for a beginner would represent a large investment so you have to find your own ways around it, for me if I was to do it again I'd buy all his voicing DVDs and take the rest from books and your own common sense, the search facility here is wonderful too and don't be afraid to ask questions.

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Formerly JJH

I learn more from my mistakes than my successes

The tops and voicing DVD's are worth the cost of the whole set. As stated in a post above John shares info on what the changes will affect. Most others who have done these kind of videos just skate around or offer things like build a bunch of guitars and you will know. If one is to do a book or video, the full information needs to be included not hints and mystery.

Fred

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Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/FE-Tellier-Guitars/163451547003866

I own the whole set and, as Fred says, the DVDs on voicing alone are worth what I paid for the set IMO. Having said that, I did learn a lot from the others as well.

Hello ive got the set aswell about 2 years ago
been watching them a good bit since
Id say that most people who will be buying them
will proberly be starting out/tooling up (like me)
so.......
their broke

BTW Im definatly a frugal man...and im
always watching a good lot of other videos
id have to say i like 90% of johns methods better
Theirs no FIJITING about like on some other peoples methods
and thiers lots of cool tips that i have not found on video anywhere
which i might not have rembered in text

I dont think he has too much tool specific items that i think i dont need
altough i dont have a router yet and john makes use of his routers
I can get by with a chisel for now on those parts

I have to say when i get building its nice to be able to review those
dvds before i get started
it will put me in a good mindset and ill rush nothing

He is hack. Don't be fooled by his good looks, dance moves, and boyish charm.

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John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

I have to agree on one point - His dance moves are great!


B Radtke - Yes - John's DVD's are great.

http://www.mayesguitars.com/orderdvd.html



You should also look at buying the DVD's by Frank Finocchio -

http://www.lmii.com/CartTwo/thirdproduc ... +Finocchio

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"An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered." G. K. Chesterton.

More seriously,... you all are too nice. Thanks for the kind words. I'm thrilled I've gotten the chance to be a small part in thousands of peoples journey into lutherie. I've only been at this for around 15 years now, but here's to good health and good guitars.

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John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

John, I gotta say, I love that guitar in your Avatar...swEEET!

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http://www.presnallguitars.com

Just bought his whole set. Watched bits and pieces in past 24 hrs from several DVDs. Already am convinced these videos were a great investment.

Yep, I've watched them all several times, and will probably watch them all several more times. I learn something new every time. Great videos!

Well, I'm sold. Now just gotta wait for the tax return.